Brush supporting and adjusting means for vacuum cleaners



Oct. 1, 1940. w. o. LANGILLE BRUSH SUPPORTING ANDADJUSTING MEANS FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed Oct. 25, 193-7 WITNESS INVEMoR.

wilfiezi 0. Langille 2/ 6M 1 ATTORN 5.

Patented Oct. 1, i940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRUSH SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Wilfred o. Langille, Chester, N. 1., asslgnor to The Singer Manufacturing Company,

Elizabeth,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to vacuum cleaners of that type in which a brush is rotatably journaled in the suction nozzle of the cleaner, and it has as an object to provide an improved means for re- 5 movably and adjustably supporting the brush shaft.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a brush-mount devoid of all relatively wide ledges, or horizontally disposed upper surfaces,

10 which are capable of affording a resting place for dust and dirt.

Considerable difliculty and annoyance heretofore have been experienced with vacuum cleaners so constructed that dust and dirt can accumu- 15 late in the nozzle, due to the fact that tipping of the cleaner or a jar thereto, as frequently happens when transporting the cleaner from one place to another, causes the accumulated mat! ter to be accidentally dislodged and to fall in undesirable places.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved brush-mount which will securely and positively hold the brush in its operative position but which will permit ready removal of the brush :5 when desired.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a brush-mount having the features above mentioned, together with convenient means for adjusting the brush vertically to compensate for go wear.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forthand illustrated in the accompanying drawing of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section of the nozzle portion of a vacuum cleaner embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the parts shown in 4 Fig- 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view, partly in section, of the mount for supporting one end of 50 the rotary brush.

Referring more specifically to thedrawing, the invention is disclosed as embodied in a vacuum cleaner having a frame or casing I, formed at its front end with a nozzle 2 of substantially in- 5 verted U-shapein cross-section. Within the nozzle casing is rotatably journaled a brush unit B driven from a suitable motor, not shown, by a belt 4. Horizontally disposed substantially U- shaped guard-members 5 are secured to the nozzle and underlie the brush to prevent excessive a lifting of the rug or carpet by the suction produced by the vacuum cleaner.

The brush unit B comprises a shaft 3 carrying a plurality of spirally arranged rows of tufts of bristles 3 and having, intermediate its ends, a portion 3 constituting a pulley for the belt l.' The opposite ends of the shaft 3 are journaled in self-aligning anti-friction bearings 6 and 'l which are permanently secured to the shaft and removable therewith from the nozzle casing 2. The bearings 6 and I therefore constitute portions of the removable brush unit B.

Adjustably mounted within the opposite ends of the nozzle casing 2 are bearing-supporting elements or hangers 8 and 9 of inverted U-shape. These hangers are formed with semi-circular surfaces 8 and 9 adapted to receive, respectively, the outer casing members of the anti-friction brush-bearings 6 and l. The hangers I and l are similar in construction and diifer only in that they are made left and right, respectively. A detail description of one will, therefore, suflice for both. Each hanger is formed with a main portion and an upstanding flange [0 formed integral therewith. The main portion carries an adjusting screw II. The screws II are formed with annular grooves II and are rotatably supported in the hangers by means of substantially U- shaped wire retainers [2 having their mid-portions engaging the annular grooves I I and their opposite ends fitted into holes drilled into the hangers. The upper ends of the screws H are threaded into bushings l3 embedded within the nozzle casing 2.

The bushings l3 are used only when the nozzle casing is made of relatively soft metal, such for example, as aluminum. In constructions where the casing is made of harder metal the bushings may be eliminated and the screws threaded into holes formed directly in the casing.

Each end of the nozzle casing is provided with an internal inverted substantially U-shaped rib l4 formed integral with the casing, which aifords a support and guide for one of the bearing-supporting elements. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the rib I4 is formed with vertically disposed straight side-walls M and I4 against and between which are slidingly fitted the outer fiat faces 9 and 9 of the depending portions 9 and 9, respectively, of the bearing-supporting element 9. The upstanding flange III of the element I bears against the side face of the rib l4 and prevents dust and dirt from entering between that element and the rib. The bearing-supporting element 8 is constructed and arranged similarly to the element I, as above described. Each of the depending portions of the hangers I and 8 is formed with a vertically arranged guide-slot I! adapted to receive the unthreaded cylindrical end of a guidescrew it threaded through the nozzle casing 2. These elements assist in guiding the bearing-supporting members 8 and 9 when those members are adjusted vertically by the screws H to compensate for wear on the brush 3.

It will be observed that, except for the edge of the flange l0, thwe brush-mounts are devoid of all ledges or horizontally disposed surfaces on which dirt or dust could accumulate and from which it could subsequently and accidentally be dislodged. The. flanges it are relatively thin so that no appreciable amount of dust or dirt will remain thereon. Thus it may be said that these brush-mounts are substantially free of dirt-supporting surfaces.

To maintain the brush bearings 6 and 1 in the semi-circular portions 8 and 9 of the hangers I and 8, each hanger is provided with a spring-pressed plunger ll fitted within an inclined bore l8 formed in the hanger. Each of these plungers may comprise a hollow sheet metal thimble I! having therein one end of a coil spring 20, the other end of which bears against a pin 2| secured in the hanger transversely of the bore l0. These plungers are forced outwardly by the springs 20 and engage tangentially the outer casing members of the anti-friction bearings B and l and serve to hold these members positively in the semi-circular bearing surfaces 8*, 9 of the hangers 8 and 9. Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the distance between the point x, where the bearing I engages the surface 9, and the point 1/ where the plunger i1 engages that bearing, is materially less than the diameter of the bearing. Therefore the brush-bearing I is positively held in the hanger 9 and cannot be withdrawn therefrom until the plunger ll has been pushed upwardly, in opposition to the spring 20, to a position where it frees the bearing. This may be done with a screw driver or other suitable implement.

Each end wall of the nozzle casing 2 is formed with a cavity 22 adapted to afford clearance for projecting portions 8, I of the anti-friction bearings 6 and I respectively.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention what I claim herein is:

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising a casing provided with a suction nozzle of substantially inverted U-shape in cross section and having top, side and end walls. a supporting rib formed in each end of said nozzle integral with the topand one of said end walls, at the juncture thereof, and corresponding substantially to the cross-sectional shape of the nozzle and affording opposed inwardly facing guideways, a pair of inverted substantially U-shaped brush-bearing supporting elements, one adjustably mounted on each of said supporting ribs, each of said elements having a.

main portion fitted within its supporting rib and between and in contact with said guideways and an upwardly extending relatively narrow flange maintained in contact with the face of said rib to prevent entrance of dirt between the brushbearing supporting element and its supporting rib, and means for adjusting said brush-bearing supporting elements on said guideways.

2. A vacuum cleaner comprising a casing provided with a suction nozzle having side, end and top walls, an inverted U-shaped supporting rib in each end of said nozzle and contacting with the end wall and the under surface of said top wall, a pair of inverted U-shaped brush-bearing supporting elements, one adjustably mounted mainly within each of said supporting ribs and having only a relatively narrow upwardly extending flange exteriorly thereof, said flange contacting with the inner face of said supporting rib above said brush-supporting element to prevent dirt from entering between said rib and said supporting element, means for adjusting said brush-bearing supporting elements within said supporting ribs, and interfltting means provided by said ribs and elements for guiding said elements in their movements of adjustment.

3. A vacuum cleaner comprising a casing provided with a suction nozzle, an inverted U-shaped guide member formed in each end of said nozzle and closed at one side by the adjacent end wall of said nozzle, a pair of inverted U-shaped brush-bearing supporting elements, one slidingly mounted in each of said guide members, said supporting elements having upwardly projecting flanges bearing against the inner faces of said guide members above said supporting elements to prevent dirt from entering between the guide members and the upper surfaces of said supporting elements, means for adjusting said brushbearing supporting elements in said guide members, and interfltting means provided by said nozzle and elements, respectively, for guiding said elements in their movements of adjustment.

4. In a vacuum cleaner having a suction nozzle, a rotary brush and anti-friction bearings for said brush carried thereby; means for supporting said brush-bearings comprising adjustable hangers mounted in the opposite ends of said nozzle, each of said hangers having therein a cavity bounded by an inverted substantially U- shaped wall, the open side of which faces the mouth of the nozzle and into which one of the brush-bearings may be inserted, the wall of said cavity terminating at one side of the axis of said bearing in a fixed abutment for said bearing located below said axis; a downwardly acting spring-pressed plunger carried by said hanger at the opposite side of said axis and constituting a second abutment for said bearing; means to limit the downward movement of said plunger, the distance between said abutments, when said plunger is in its lowermost position, being less than the diameter of said bearing, said abutments thereby holding the bearing in said cavity, the longitudinal axis of the plunger being arranged at an acute angle to a. vertical plane passing through the axis of said bearing; and means for adjusting said hanger vertically in said nozzle.

5. In a vacuum cleaner having a suction nozzle and a rotary brush unit, means including adjustable hangers mounted in the opposite ends of said nozzle and provided with substantially semi-circular bearing supporting surfaces for supporting said brush unit, means for adjusting said hangers vertically, means including spring-pressed plungers carried by said hangers and engaging said brush unit tangentially below the axis thereof for positively locking said brush unit in contact with said bearing supporting surfaces, and means to limit the movement of said plungers.

2,21a,7o9 V 3 wardly extending springressed plunger carried by said hanger and engagin said brush bearing tangentially below the brush axis at the side thereof opposite said fixed abutment to lock said brush bearing in said bearing-supporting 5 surface.

WHERE!) O. LANGILLE. 

